The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Mr. K Radhakrishnan has said on Wednesday that the agency programmes are aimed at bringing benefits for the common man in the country.

Mr. Radhakrishnan was speaking at the convocation of Tumkur University on the premises of University Science College where he was also awarded honorary doctorate degree.

He expressed that ISRO had humble beginning and now some successful programmes like PSLV and GSLV which are now commercially viable and among the most reliable in the industry. The latest rocket GSLV MK-III from ISRO is very advanced and would mean lifting an adult elephant to the height of 25,000 km above earth.

Mr. Radhakrishnan said that the budget allocation for the organization is equivalent to three per cent of that of NASA and despite the low budget ISRO would continue its initiatives in inter-planetary missions and human space flight programme.

"The success of Chandrayaan-1 prepares the basis for many futuristic missions. Mission planning is being carried out for Chandrayaan-2, Mars orbiter and Aditya, the maiden solar mission to study solar corona," Radhakrishnan said.

He also expressed that the Human Space Flight Programme would see two astronauts on the low earth orbit and then return safely.